Hypodermic syringe



July 14, 1953 w. L. BEEBE HYPODERMIC smmcz:

2. Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 18, 1950 ljwd L. Beabo INVENT OR 5419 NEW)" ATTORNEY July 14, 1953 w. L. BEEBE HYPODERMIC smmsa 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 18, 1950 mw Q Q WM w V O MN WM MN ,U W. fir .NQ

. INVENTOR Ward L. Beebe BY @610 Elm doxmw illiqzlmlhfirllldvm mun ni: I

Patented July 14, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

HYPODERMIC SYRINGE 7 Ward L. Beebe, St. PauLMinn. Application March 18, 1950,-Serial No. 150,524

1 My invention relates to an improvement in hypodermic syringes wherein it is desired to pro- Vide a simple syringe attachment by means of which the syringe may be actuated by foot pressure. 7

The use of a syringe for making a great number of injections becomes extremely tiresome upon the hand. The task of mass vaccination or innoculation of poultry, animals or the like is extremely tedious. I have found that by providing a simple attachment to a syringe of common type, the syringe may be actuated by foot pressure. As a result much of the difiiculty in making numerous injections can be eliminated.

A purpose of the present invention lies in the. 1

provision of an attachment which fits upon a syringe of common type. This attachment includes a plunger engageable with the hypodermic plunger for forcing the'contents of the syringe through the needle. The device also includes a flexible tube connected to the attachment for enclosing an operating wire which is also part of a flexible connection. A simple foot pedal is pivotally supported upon a suitable base and thewire enclosed in the flexible tube is connected to this pedal to be actuated thereby. By merely depressing the foot pedalthe movement is conducted through the flexible tube to the plunger within thehypodermic attachment to actuate the syringe plunger.

A feature of the present invention lies in the use of a foot actuated device in conjunction with an automatically refillable hypodermic syringe. The syringe which I employ is of the type which ejects the contents of the syringe through the needle upon a forward stroke of the plunger and draws liquid into the syringe upon a return movement of the plunger. Spring means are provided for automatically returning the plunger to retracted position after the serum has beenexpelled from the syringe.

These and other objects and novel features of my invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

'ln the drawings forming a part of my specification: 7 p p H Figurev 1 illustrates in perspective the general assembly of the apparatus.

Figure 2 is across sectional view through the syringe and the attachment connected thereto.

Figure 3 is an elevation view of a portion of the attachment removed from the syringe and the remainder of the attachment.

Figure 4 is a sectional view through the foot a t a ed de ge- Y 11 Claims. (01.128-218) The device in general includes a syringe A having a filling tube I designed for immersion in a container I l or reservoir of the serum or liquid to be injected. The syringe A is provided with an attachment indicated in general by the letter B. The attachment B is flexibly connected to a foot actuated apparatus indicated in general by the letter C. v

The syringe A includes a cylinder l2 which may be of glass'or other transparent material so that the contents of the cylinder may be seen and measured. The cylinder. I2 is provided at one end with a nipple I 3'which forms a part of a detachable connection with a fitting indicated in general by the numeral H. The fitting I4 is provided with a projecting sleeve l6 which interengages the nipple l3 and formsa detachable connection therewith. The sleevelt snugly encirclesthe reduced diameter end I! of the syring cylinder.

The fitting I4 is provided with a passage l9 extending therethrough in communication with the passage through the end I! of the cylinder l2. commodate the valve spring urged against the end of the passage l9 by a spring2l. The valve 20 forms a check valve for preventing a reverse fiow of fluid through the fitting l4. A needle base 22 is detachably connected to the forward end of the fitting. l4 and a passage 23 through the needle base and through the hypodermic needle 24. forms a continuation of the passage through the apparatus when the ,valve 2|] is open.

The fitting I4 is also'provided with a right angularly extending nipple 25 having a passage 26 therethrough in communication with the passage IS. A tubular valve body 21 is threaded to the nipple 25 andis designed to accommodate a valve 29. g The valve 29 is urged against a .valve seat by a spring 30 positioned between the valve and the nipple 25. The valve 29 forms a check valve to prevent the flow of liquid in a direction away from the passage I9, but permits a flow of fluid into the passage 19;

The valve body 21 is connected by a relatively small shank 3| to a bulbular enlargement 33. This enlargement 33 is designed to accommodate one end of a resilient flexible hose 34. A passage 35 is provided through the shank 3| and enlargement 33 so as to form a communication between the valve chamber and the passage through the hose or tube 34. I Thetube 34 is designedto extend into the receptacle ll whichis partially filled with serum or other material to be injected. The liquid One end of thepassage l 9 is enlarged to ac-.

3 therein is drawn through the tube 34 by action of the syringe as will be later described.

A syringe plunger 36 of glass or other suitable material which may be easily sterilized is slidable within the cylinder l2. The plunger 36 is provided with a peripheral flange 31 at its outer end. A spring 39 is interposed between the flange 31 and the end of the cylinder l2, thus tending to retract the plunger from the cylinder.

A sleeve 40 isdesigned to encircle one end of the cylinder l2 and is provided with spring fingers 4| which project into contact with the surface of the cylinder. The sleeve 40 is purposely slightly larger than the outer surface of the cylinder l2 to permit a variation in the Outer diameter of the cylinder. The cylinder I2 is provided with a peripheral flange 42 at its extremity and the sleeve 4| is connected by an off-set 43 to an internally threaded integral sleeve 44. The sleeve 44 is of proper diameter to encircle the flange 42 and the flange engages against the off-set 43 to hold the sleeve 40 in place. A sleeve 45 is exteriorly threaded to fit into the sleeve 44. The sleeve 45 is threaded to a cap 46 which forms, a partition across the end of the sleeve.

An externally threaded tube 4'! extends through the cap 46. Thus tube is provided with an enlarged head 49 by means of which the tube may be rotated for adjustment purposes. A look nut 50 is supported by the tube 41 and may be clamped against the cap 46 to hold the tube 4'! in .any adjusted position.

A plunger rod is slidably supported in the 'tube 41. This rod 5| is provided with an enlarged head 52 engageable against the head end of the syringe plunger 36. The outer end of the plunger 5| is likewise provided with an enlarged head 53. An elongated tubular element 55 encircles the structure thus described. The tubular element 55 includes a relatively small diameter portion 56 which encircles the sleeve 45 and a slightly larger diameter end 51 of proper size to encircle the cap 46. The shoulder 59 between the two parts of the tubular element 55 engages against the threaded end of the cap 46 to hold the tubular element from longitudinal movement. The internally threaded sleeve 44 abuts against the end of the small diameter portion 55 and thus locks this tubular element 55 from movement in either direction.

A cap 60 is threaded to the outer end of the tubular element 55 and is provided with an elon gated hub or boss 6| to accommodate the tubular flexible conduit 62. A set screw 53 is provided for holding the conduit 62 engaged. A flexible wire 64 is slidable within the conduit 62. A piston 65 is secured to the end of the wire 64. Thus upon movement of the wire 64 through the conduit 62, the piston 65 is urged against the head end 53 of the plunger 5| which in turn acts against the syringe plunger 36 r to evacuate the syringe cylinder |2.

With reference now to Figure 4 of the drawings it will be noted that the foot pressure element C includes a base panel 66 which acts to support the metal base plate 61 having a pair of spaced upwardly extending integral cars 69 thereupon. A pivot pivotally connects the wires 69 to a foot pedal lever having a pressure plate 12 at one end thereof. The other end of the lever H is rounded as indicated at 13 to engage against the enlarged end E4 of a plunger 15. The plunger is connected to the flexible wire 64 leading through the flexible conduit 62. A spring 16 is interposed between the bight ll of an inverted U- shaped yoke 19 mounted upon the plate 6'! and the head 14 of the plunger 15.

A tubular guide extends upwardly from the top of the yoke 19 and is secured thereto by nuts 8|, 01' any other suitable means. The guide 80 encloses the plunger 15 and a portion of the wire 64 and also provides a socket for reception of the end of the conduit 62. A set screw 82 is provided on the guide 80 to hold the conduit 62 engaged with the tubular element 80. The spring 16 tends to hold the foot lever H in the inoperative position illustrated in the drawings, and also tends to retract the wire 64. This in turn tends to retract the piston 65 within the tubular element 55 and move this piston to the left end of the tubular element 55 as viewed in the drawings. This action relieves pressure against the plunger 5|. The spring 39 encircling the syringe plunger 36 tends to move this plunger to its left hand extreme position, which in turn acts against the plunger 5| to cause this plunger to follow the retractable movement of the piston 65.

As the plunger 36 moves to the left in the cylinder I2, the check valve 29 opens to permit serum or other liquid to be drawn through the tube 34 into the fitting l4 and into the cylinder l2. Movement ofthis plunger to the left tends to create a partial vacuum which draws the fluid into the cylinder. During this time the check valve 20 remains closed.

The extent of movement of the plunger 36 depends upon the adjustment of the tube 41. If this tube is threaded to the right as viewed in Figure 2, until the right hand end thereof engages the head 52 of the plunger 5|, the movement'of the plunger 36 and plunger 5| to the left may be definitely limited. Thus .by restricting the movement of the plunger 36 to the left, the amount of fluid entering the cylinder |2 may be regulated. The tube 41 is held in adjusted position by the lock nut 50.

The syringe is now ready for the injection process. If desired suflicient foot pressure may be exerted to insure the fact that the fitting and cylinder are free of air bubbles. The needle 24 may be injected. By pressing downwardly upon the foot lever H, the plunger 15 is forced upwardly, acting through the flexible wire 64 to exert a pressure against the piston 65 to move the same to the right. This movement acts through the plunger 5| to move the plunger 36 to the right, thus forcing fluid through the needle 24. During this movement the check valve 20 is opened by pressure against the same while the check valve 29 is held closed by the same pressure.

It will be seen that my syringe can be automatically filled and the serum contained therein may be forced through the needle by foot pressure. This greatly relieves the strain upon the hands, it being extremely difficult to make a considerable number of injections consecutively, due to the fact that considerable strength is necessary to force the fluid through the needle.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my syringe structure, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that ohvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A hypodermic syringe including a cylinder having a needle end, a plunger slidable therein, resilient means for urging said plunger in a 5 direction away from said needle end, and means for urging the plunger in a direction toward said needle end, said means including a foot actuated lever, and a mechanical connection connecting said lever with said plunger.

2. The structure described in claim 1 in which the mechanical connection includes a-flexible conduit having a flexible Wire slidably engaged therein.

3. The structure described in claim 1 and including means for normally biasing said foot lever in one direction.

4. A hypodermic syringe including aicylinder having a needle connected thereto, a plunger slidable in said cylinder for forcing fluid therefrom, resilient means urging said plunger out of said cylinder, an elongated enclosure encircling said plunger, a piston slidable in said enclosure, means connectingsaid piston and said plunger for transmitting movement from one to the other, a foot pedal, and means for transmitting mechanical movement from said foot pedal to said piston to actuate the same, said piston acting to exert a force upon said plunger to expel fluid from said syringe cylinder.

5. The structure described in claim 4 in which the means for transmitting mechanical movement includes a flexible conduit and a flexible wire therein.

6. The construction described in claim 4 and including means for normally retracting said piston away from said plunger.

7. The structure described in claim 4 and including means for limiting the outward movement of said plunger.

8. A hypodermic syringe including a cylinder, a plunger reciprocable therein, a push rod engageable against said plunger for actuating the same in one direction, a resilient means for biasing said plunger in the opposite direction, means encircling said push rod and longitudinally adjustable with respect thereto, said last named means being operable to limit the movement of said plunger in the direction toward which it is biased, a foot lever, and mechanical means connectingsaid foot lever to said push rod to actuate the same.

9. The structure described in claim 8 and in which the mechanical connection between the foot lever and the push rod comprises a tubular conduit enclosing a flexible wire.

10. An attachment for a syringe having a reciprocable plunger therein, the attachment including a plunger rod engageable against said plunger to actuate the same, a flexible tubular conduit connected to said syringe, a flexible wire extending through said conduit, means connected to said wire and engageable against said plunger rod for actuating the same, a foot lever, a means pivotally supporting said foot lever, a support adjacent one end of said lever, means connecting said tubular conduit'to said support, and

means connecting said lever.

11. The structure described in claim 10 and including resilient means for urging said foot lever and said flexible wire connected thereto in one direction.

flexible wire to said foot WARD L. BEEBE.

References Cited in theme of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,046,166 Flaherty Dec. 3, 1912 2,130,657 Watkin Sept. 20, 1938 2,309,502 Douglas Jan. 26,1943 2,438,262 Watkin Mar. 23, 1948 

